The New York Jets have poached a lineman away from the New England Patriots!
Well … sort of.
27-year-old offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor is technically a former Patriot, as he started one game for New England last season, but then he promptly left the team.
On Wednesday, the Jets signed Okorafor — per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson — and afterward, Take Flight Media’s Harrison Glaser provided some context into what went down with Okorafor’s short stint with the Pats last season.
“#Jets new OT Chukwuma Okorafor played 12 offensive snaps as the Patriots starting left tackle before being replaced by Vederian Lowe last season in week one,” Glaser wrote.
“The following weekend, Okorafor was moved to the left squad list. This is what then HC Jerod Mayo had to say about it: “Chuks left the building. He’s not with the team. He’s doing some thinking, but at this point in time, he’s not with the team, so I don’t want to get into that. I told you guys I did give him a call. We had a good call. It had nothing to do with football or a roster spot. It had everything to do with just making sure that he was okay.”
Before briefly playing for New England, Okorafor was a three-year starter at right tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers between 2020 and 2022. He was selected by the Steelers at No. 92 overall in the 2018 NFL draft out of Western Michigan, where he was a first-team All-American in 2017.
Okorafor is expected to compete for the Jets’ starting right tackle job during camp.
